Patent Application
20060144911
The present invention relates to a resealable container, and in particular, a new and improved resealable container having a reclosable sealing cover which can be pulled back and closed against a top portion of the container.
Containers for food products such as cookies and other snacks typically include a frame surrounded by an outer wrapper. The frame acts as a tray to hold the food product and to protect the food product from damage. One normally gains access to the contents of the container by opening one end of the wrapper, withdrawing the tray from the inside thereof, and then removing the food product from the tray. However, these containers generally do not provide a convenient opening and reclosing arrangement. For example, reclosing of the wrapper, once opened, generally includes simply folding or rolling the end down and clipping the end to keep the wrapper closed.
Reclosable seals have been used for dispensing bags for wet tissues or disposable cleaning wipes. The label on these bags can be pulled back, thereby exposing an opening, allowing access to the wet tissues or wipes inside. Typically, these dispensing bags are completely flexible, formed exclusively of a plastic or other suitable flexible material which closely surrounds the pack of wet tissues or wipes. Examples of these dispensing bags include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,840,270 and 6,026,953, U.S. Design Pat. No. D 447,054 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0182359. However, such known dispensing bags are not well suited for containing food products as these containers fail to provide adequate protection for storing food products.
One recent resealable food container is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0206637, herein incorporated by reference. The disclosed resealable container is adapted for use with food products and includes a frame which defines a polygonal shape and a wrapper which surrounds the frame and has a top opening. A sealing layer is adhesively sealed to the top.
The present invention concerns optimizing sealing characteristics between a sealing cover and the top of a container adjacent an opening of the container, which characteristics include sufficient resealing frequency, sufficiently low noise level during unsealing and desirable peel force to separate a seal between a sealing cover and the top of the container.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new and improved container for food products such as cookies and the like in which the container provides adequate protection for the contents thereof, while concurrently facilitating opening of the container wrapper and resealing the seal to protect the contents thereof until the contents are fully consumed. Individual or a combination of container components provide for optimized or desired characteristics of sufficient resealing frequency, sufficiently low noise level during unsealing, and desirable peel force to separate the seal between the sealing cover and the top. For example container elements including the sealing cover, adhesive and top surface material are selected specifically in order to optimize the aforementioned characteristics.
This purpose is achieved by providing a suitable container composed of selected materials which comprise the sealing cover, adhesive and top surface of the container in order to provide the desired sealing/resealing characteristics.
In accordance with one embodiment, the present invention comprises a polygonal food container having a frame defining the polygonal shape of the container and containing a food product. A wrapper surrounds the frame and forms a top of the container. The top has an access opening sufficiently large to provide access to the food product. A sealing cover has an adhesive and forms a resealable seal to the top in a sealing area between the access opening and an adjacent edge of the top. The sealing cover is operable to expose the access opening and reclosable against the top to seal the access opening. The sealing cover, adhesive and top surface are optimized to provide sealing characteristics of sufficient resealing frequency, sufficiently low noise level during unsealing and desirable peel force to separate the seal between the sealing cover and the top.
In alternate further embodiments, the container has a sufficient resealing frequency of at least 25 times, a sufficiently low noise level during opening, a peel force between the sealing cover and the top in the range of 200 to 750 grams per inch and an adhesive which is FDA approved for direct contact with food.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a polygonal food container comprises a frame defining the polygonal shape of the container and containing a food product. A wrapper surrounds the frame and forms a top of the container. The top has a cut-out flap portion defining an access opening sufficiently large to provide access to the food product. A resealable cover comprises a label adhesively joined to the flap portion of the top. The label has a larger surface area than a surface area of the flap thereby forming a sealing surface perimeter around the flap. The sealing surface forms a resealable seal with the top in a sealing area between the access opening and an adjacent edge of the top. The resealable cover is operable to expose the access opening and reclosable against the top to seal the access opening when the resealable cover is moved back against the top. The resealable cover is optimized to provide sealing characteristics of sufficient resealing frequency, sufficiently low noise during unsealing and desirable peel force to separate the seal between the resealable cover and the top.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows, together with the accompanying drawings.
There follows a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, to be read together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to the drawings, like elements are represented by like throughout the several views.
Referring specifically to
A sealing cover is formed from sealing label 20 which is affixed to the flap 16. Advantageously, the sealing label 20 is permanently affixed to the flap 16 using an appropriate adhesive. The sealing label 20 covers a substantial portion of the top 12 extending from the proximity of end 15b to dovetail end 25 in the proximity of end 15a and from side 14a to side 14b.
The surface area of sealing label 20 is advantageously proportional to the size of opening 18. For example, if the sealing label 20 is too large, the covering could get caught or overlap corners of the package 10, or it could get caught up in the crimp seals 21a, 21b, both potentially hindering functionality of sealing label 20. Advantageously, the surface area of the sealing label 20 should be approximately 1.5 to 2 times and more preferably around 1.8 times the size of opening 18. Further, it is advantageous to have the size of opening 18 be proportional to the size of the package 10 and the food items contained therein so that, when the container is still full of food product, the consumer will have easy access to at least 90 percent of the food product inside the package, for example, not requiring one to reach deep inside the container 10 under top 12 in order to gain access to a food item contained therein. Of course as the container is emptied, the consumer can gain easy access to the remaining food product.
Graphics may be formed on the sealing label 20 which align with corresponding graphics on top 12 when the sealing label 20 is sealed or in a flap position on top 12. Alternatively, sealing label 20 may be transparent, allowing graphics of top 12 and flap 16 to be visible through the sealing label 20.
A starter portion, for example a tab 22 extends from sealing cover end 24 opposite the dovetail end 25. As a result, tab 22 can be grasped by one's fingers and thumb such that the tab 22 is easily accessible for one to pull. Further, the tab allows a user to reclose the package. The size of tab 22 and its shape are optimized for functionality. Advantageously, the tab 22 has a surface area of 1 to 6 percent that of the total surface area of sealing label 20.
Adhesive 26 is applied to the surface of sealing label 20 which is in contact with top 12 which includes a perimeter around flap 16. Advantageously, adhesive 26 provides a removable seal between the sealing label 20 and top 12. Adhesive 26 is not applied to tab portion 22.
The absence of an adhesive on tab 22 allows a consumer to more easily grasp the starter portion in order to open the container 10 since tab 22 will not be sealed to the top 12. In addition, by giving a consumer a specific portion of the sealing cover on which to pull, the consumer is not drawn to touching the adhesive portion of the sealing label 20 which, because of such touching, could lose its adhesiveness and thus not provide for a proper reseal against the top 12 of the container 10. This could, in turn, allow air to gain access to the interior of the container 10 and the food product contained therein.
The adhesive 26 has been optimized in order to function with the materials of top 12, flap 16, and sealing label 20. The amount of adhesive on the sealing label 20 affects the functionality and peel force required to separate the sealing label 20 from top 12. In order to achieve the purpose of the present invention, a balance is made among the adhesive force required to insure that the container remains closed, the ability of the container to have a sufficient number of resealing events, i.e., a resealing frequency, and a desirable peel force to separate the seal between the sealing cover 20 and top 12 which is light enough so that the package 10 can be opened easily.
One preferred adhesive is manufactured by Fasson identified by material safety data sheet (MSDS) Spec. Code 77711, Product No. R 5510. One preferred adhesive coat weight which provides desirable peel force and resealing frequency is an adhesive coat weight of 3 pounds per ream of material which comprises sealing label 20. The R 5510 adhesive applied with the aforementioned coat weight provides for a resealing frequency, i.e., opening and resealing of the container 10, of at least 25 times.
The adhesive 26 also provides for a desired peel force which is light enough to allow a consumer to easily peel back sealing label 20 while strong enough that a consumer is confident about the functionality of the container 10. Advantageously, the peel force between the sealing label 20 and top 12 should be in the range of 200 to 750 grams per inch when measured on a 1 inch strip using the ASTM standard for measuring peel strength. The ASTM standard tests the force necessary to peel a 1 inch strip of adhesive material, e.g., a label, from a substrate to which the label is applied. In the present case, preferably 200 to 750 grams per inch of force is necessary to peel a 1 inch strip of the material of sealing label 20 away from the material of top 12 to which the 1 inch strip is affixed. Further, it is desirable for the adhesive 26 to be relatively quiet upon separating the label 20 from the top 12.
The R 5510 adhesive 26 is FDA approved for contact with food. Further, the R 5510 adhesive does not present an undesirable or offensive odor for consumers or impart any odors to the food product contained inside the container 10.
The sealing label 20 is made of a suitable material which provides for a desired moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR). The MVTR of sealing label 20 limits the amount of moisture transmission between the interior of container 10 and the outside environment, thus maintaining the freshness of the food product contained therein. One preferable material for the sealing label 20 is 2 mil biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) material with a 0.15 g/in2/day MVTR. Preferable materials for the combination of the sealing label 20 and flap 16 have a maximum MVTR of 0.01 g/in2/day.
A desirable low noise level during unsealing, i.e., separating sealing label 20 from top 12 is provided by using a combination of adhesive, adhesive coat weight, material of top 12, and the material of sealing label 20. It is the interaction between the aforementioned materials which accounts for the noise level. When the sealing label is the 2 mil BOPP and the adhesive 26 is R 5510 applied at an adhesive coat weight of 3 pounds per ream, polyethylene terephthalate material is a suitable material for forming the top layer 12 so as to form a container with desirable low noise level during unsealing.
Container 10 is transformed from a closed configuration depicted in
Wrapper 11 surrounds a frame 30 which forms a tray for receiving the food contents. Referring to
Frame 30 can be any polygonal shape such as the rectangular shape depicted in
In other alternative embodiments, frames other than frame 30, which has a single divider 32 extending longitudinally along the length of the frame 30, can be used to form resealable containers. For example, referring to
In an alternative embodiment, rather than a rectangular container, the container may be in the form of any polygonal shape although rectangular, which includes square, is the preferred polygonal shape. As previously discussed, the polygonal shape of the container takes its form from the frame which is covered by a wrapper. For example, referring to
The present invention offers numerous features and advantages over previous food containers. For example, the present container includes a sealing cover which is adhesively sealed to a top surface in which the sealing cover, adhesive and top surface material are optimized to provide sealing characteristics of sufficient resealing frequency, sufficiently low noise level during unsealing, and desirable peel force to separate the seal between the sealing cover and the top.
Although the invention has been described in detail with respect to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is capable of numerous variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention.
